In cable manufacturing, typically a reel is loaded onto a take-up or spool and used to wind cable of various lengths. These reels usually have a starting hole, or opening, through one or both flanges in which the cable is inserted. The beginning (bottom end) of the cable is then attached to the outside of the flange using a nail, or other fastener, to keep the cable from pulling through the flange during spooling. When the cable is unspooled from the reel, the bottom end must be freed from its attachment to the reel flange.
During cable production, there are often several processes a cable must go through before the cable reaches its final construction. The number of processes a cable must go through to reach final construction may vary, from as few as one process, to what could be many. At each stage of construction, the cable is unspooled from the reel, run through the process, and spooled back onto another reel. The cable must be attached in some form to the reel during each processing stage.
The repeated attaching and un-attaching of the cable to the reel flange is labor intensive, time consuming, and results in damage to the reel flange and/or the cable. Improvements are desirable.